Read Online Graven Image by Charlie Williams - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Charlie Williams
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right? I did some asking around, sticking my nose where it weren’t wanted, and I turfed up the name Graven. From there, it was a piece of piss. The higher ranks, they don’t move in the same circles like us ones. You gotta go to different places to find ’em, different pubs.’
‘Graven don’t drink in pubs.’
‘Course he don’t. But his boys do. And...’
‘And his boys won’t talk. He’s a secret, pal. To plebs like you he don’t exist.’
‘Ah, but... do you know what I’ve found, mate? There’s always a weak link. No matter how loyal you think your homies are, there’s always one who’ll let you down. There’s always one... cunt who—’
‘You don’t know that, Sid,’ the lad in the back said.
‘Fuck off, Gnash! Dux grassed me and you fuckin’ knows it!’
‘But you don’t—’
‘Dux?’ I said, getting confused here. ‘Isn’t he your other mate, the skinny one?’
‘Forget Dux,’ said Sid, touching his stitches again. ‘Dux is just a cunt. He’s history now anyway, good as. I’m on about the one who betrayed Graven. Up in the Chequers. Big feller with a footy top on, tats all over on his—’
‘What team?’
‘Eh? Who cares what—?’
‘Come on, convince me. Spread some detail. Who’s name was on the back?’
‘Well, it was, erm... blue. Everton, I think. And it was that striker... what’s his name?’
‘Rooney?’ I said.
‘Rooney? Mate, you’re a bit out of date there. Rooney got sold to Man Utd years ago.’
‘What? Oh...’
‘You feelin’ alright?’
‘Shut up. Go on... what about this bloke in the Chequers?’
‘All I had to do was bung him some skunk. Got him talking and within ten minutes I got an address.’
‘So that’s all you got? An unconfirmed address?’
‘No, mate,’ he said, ‘it ain’t about the whether or not Graven’s there. It’s about what he showed me. It’s about what he offered me in exchange for a block of skunk.’
‘Sid.’
‘Shut up, Gnash, I know what I’m doing. I gotta tell him.’
‘Tell me what?’
Sid just looked at me, licking his lips. Looking for the words.
‘ What? ’
‘He... the bloke showed me pics on his phone. Of a bird. A young bird, too young.’
‘What? Who? What did she look like?’
‘Well, you couldn’t really see but, you know, she wasn’t white.’
‘You dunno for sure.’
‘Shut the fuck up, Gnash! I’m helpin’ the man. You think I’m enjoying this? The man needs to know!’
‘But...’ I didn’t know what to say, what to ask. My fingers kept squeezing the wheel and letting go. I gripped again, hard, not letting go. Deep breathing, firm chin. Common sense. Perspective. ‘You dunno it’s her,’ I said. ‘Could be any black girl.’
‘You’d best pull in a minute, mate.’
‘Bollocks.’
‘Just for a sec. Trust me.’
I didn’t even notice doing it. One minute I’m going sixty in a thirty zone. Next I’m tucked in between an Astra and a Mondeo.
‘I got this for you,’ said Sid, opening his jacket. Street light wasn’t coming in from this angle but no mistaking what he had in there. The dark metal found a bit of light from somewhere and made it shine a bit, like sweat oozing out of a sick person.
No way was this one a BB gun.
‘It’s heavy. You takin’ it or what?’
‘How much you want for it?’
‘It’s a gift.’
‘A gift? Fuck off.’
‘I swear. This is an offering, from brother to brother.’
I sighed. ‘That all you wanted me to pull in for?’
‘No, that’s cos of what I’m gonna tell you next. This feller in the, erm... Liverpool top, he said the girl’s name was Kelly.’
20.
You bring them up with such hopes, dreams of what they’ll be when they grow up. Prime ministers, athletes, scientists... whatever. None of that matters, really. All you want is for them to grow up safe.
And for nothing bad to happen to them.
‘It’s just in this next road.’
I was following Gnash. Sid had stayed with the car because he
‘Graven don’t drink in pubs.’
‘Course he don’t. But his boys do. And...’
‘And his boys won’t talk. He’s a secret, pal. To plebs like you he don’t exist.’
‘Ah, but... do you know what I’ve found, mate? There’s always a weak link. No matter how loyal you think your homies are, there’s always one who’ll let you down. There’s always one... cunt who—’
‘You don’t know that, Sid,’ the lad in the back said.
‘Fuck off, Gnash! Dux grassed me and you fuckin’ knows it!’
‘But you don’t—’
‘Dux?’ I said, getting confused here. ‘Isn’t he your other mate, the skinny one?’
‘Forget Dux,’ said Sid, touching his stitches again. ‘Dux is just a cunt. He’s history now anyway, good as. I’m on about the one who betrayed Graven. Up in the Chequers. Big feller with a footy top on, tats all over on his—’
‘What team?’
‘Eh? Who cares what—?’
‘Come on, convince me. Spread some detail. Who’s name was on the back?’
‘Well, it was, erm... blue. Everton, I think. And it was that striker... what’s his name?’
‘Rooney?’ I said.
‘Rooney? Mate, you’re a bit out of date there. Rooney got sold to Man Utd years ago.’
‘What? Oh...’
‘You feelin’ alright?’
‘Shut up. Go on... what about this bloke in the Chequers?’
‘All I had to do was bung him some skunk. Got him talking and within ten minutes I got an address.’
‘So that’s all you got? An unconfirmed address?’
‘No, mate,’ he said, ‘it ain’t about the whether or not Graven’s there. It’s about what he showed me. It’s about what he offered me in exchange for a block of skunk.’
‘Sid.’
‘Shut up, Gnash, I know what I’m doing. I gotta tell him.’
‘Tell me what?’
Sid just looked at me, licking his lips. Looking for the words.
‘ What? ’
‘He... the bloke showed me pics on his phone. Of a bird. A young bird, too young.’
‘What? Who? What did she look like?’
‘Well, you couldn’t really see but, you know, she wasn’t white.’
‘You dunno for sure.’
‘Shut the fuck up, Gnash! I’m helpin’ the man. You think I’m enjoying this? The man needs to know!’
‘But...’ I didn’t know what to say, what to ask. My fingers kept squeezing the wheel and letting go. I gripped again, hard, not letting go. Deep breathing, firm chin. Common sense. Perspective. ‘You dunno it’s her,’ I said. ‘Could be any black girl.’
‘You’d best pull in a minute, mate.’
‘Bollocks.’
‘Just for a sec. Trust me.’
I didn’t even notice doing it. One minute I’m going sixty in a thirty zone. Next I’m tucked in between an Astra and a Mondeo.
‘I got this for you,’ said Sid, opening his jacket. Street light wasn’t coming in from this angle but no mistaking what he had in there. The dark metal found a bit of light from somewhere and made it shine a bit, like sweat oozing out of a sick person.
No way was this one a BB gun.
‘It’s heavy. You takin’ it or what?’
‘How much you want for it?’
‘It’s a gift.’
‘A gift? Fuck off.’
‘I swear. This is an offering, from brother to brother.’
I sighed. ‘That all you wanted me to pull in for?’
‘No, that’s cos of what I’m gonna tell you next. This feller in the, erm... Liverpool top, he said the girl’s name was Kelly.’
20.
You bring them up with such hopes, dreams of what they’ll be when they grow up. Prime ministers, athletes, scientists... whatever. None of that matters, really. All you want is for them to grow up safe.
And for nothing bad to happen to them.
‘It’s just in this next road.’
I was following Gnash. Sid had stayed with the car because he
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